St Michael's C
of E Primary SchoolART & DESIGN
"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.""Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."
Scott Adams
Why do we teach Art & Design?
- To develop imagination, creativity and expression: Art allows children to explore, build upon and record their own creative and imaginative ideas. Making pictures allows children to express their feelings and ideas, both as a means of self-expression and to communicate to others. Older children may use pictures for more conceptual purposes, expressing their concerns and worries.
- To develop visual thinking and observational skills: Pictures encourage us to think about and understand the world visually, instead of restricting learning and the acquisition of knowledge to words and numbers alone. Making pictures helps children observe more closely and therefore become better observers of detail in the world around them.
- To develop critical thinking, problem solving and analytical skills: Children gain an understanding of art and design. Pictures enable children to explore and test out ideas, while making decisions on how they choose to depict them.
- To develop confidence and self-esteem: A child's picture is his or her own. It has worth in its own right, without having to be measured or judged by others as right or wrong.
What do we teach?
Autumn Term
Art Theme: 'God's wonderful world', which links well with our Geography topic of 'Seven worlds, one planet'.
- Skills: Drawing & painting
- Artists: Wassily Kandinsky; Henri Rousseau; J Vincent; Alan M Hunt; Georgia O'Keeff
DT project: Fabric Faces (Y1,2); Mechanical posters (Y3,4); Automated animals (Y5,6)
Spring Term
Art Theme: Sculpture. We link our art with the history topics.
- Skills: Drawing & 3D work
- Artists: Barbara Hepworth; Marc Quinn; Michelle Reader; Eva Rothschild; Brendan Jamison
DT project: Food technology (linked to healthy food)
Summer Term
Theme: Patterns. Pattern awareness has been described as early algebraic thinking, which involves noticing mathematical features.
- Skills: Drawing & Printing
- Y1: pattern in the environment (artist - Andy Goldsworthy)
- Y2: pattern as landscape in nature (artists - David Hockney & Metzinger & Van Gogh
- Y3: pattern as repetition (artist - William Morris)
- Y4: pattern as landscape in cities (artists - LS Lowry & Monet)
- Y5: pattern as repetition - Pop Art (artist - Andy Warhol)
- Y6: pattern as contrast (artists - MC Esher & Banksy)
DT project: Fabric bunting (Y1,2); Let's go fly a kite (Y3,4); Felt phone cases (Y5,6)
Our expectations (Impact)
We expect our children to make informed judgements, aesthetic and practical decisions. We want them to explore ideas and meanings through the work of artists and designers. By experiencing appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts, we want to enrich their lives.
The skills we are focusing on in art this year are drawing, painting, 3D work (sculpture) and printmaking. Click on the link to see the progress drives for each skills: